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By R. J. Watson, A. H. Juch

About half a million sucker-rod pumps are installed in oil wells in the U. S. alone. In Venezuela, too, the system is widely used; some 5,000, or 90 percent, of Cia. Shell de Venezuela's wells produce a total of 400,000 BOPD by this method. Most of the crude pumped is viscous, gassy and contains relatively small amounts of free water. API gravities vary from 90 to 16O; dead oil viscosities vary from 10 to 10,000 cp at the pump; and GOR's range from 100 to 2,000 cu ft/bbl. Pumps are set at depths ranging from a few hundred to 6,000 ft; the average setting depth is about 2,500 ft. From the literature, it appears that although recent years have seen significant progress toward understanding the rod pumping system as a whole, relatively little attention has been paid to those key items, the sucker-rod pump and the subsurface gas separator or gas anchor. Perhaps because of proration in the U. S., pump manufacturers have seemingly concerned themselves more with the durability of their product, achieved mainly through robust design and metallurgical know-how, than with its working efficiency. In 1963, CSV commenced a major rehabilitation and expansion of its heavy oil fields along the Bolivar Coast. The advent of the more efficient gravel-packed completion and of large-scale thermal recovery (mainly steam soak) operations resulted in well potentials *Now with B. I. P. M., The Hague, The Netherlands. greater than pump capacities. Hence, an urgent need arose to improve over-all pump efficiencies and to attack those special problems related to the production of both the extremely viscous and the hot, steam-laden crudes that formed an increasing proportion of the total stream. There followed a detailed investigation and testing program, carried out in close cooperation with a major pump manufacturer. This culminated in the introduction to the oil industry of a new line of sucker-rod pumps. Early Investigations and Experiments Field Tests Extensive field tests were carried out in three primary Bolivar Coast wells with an in-situ dead oil viscosity ranging from 400 to 6,000 cp. In these installations provision was made to (1) monitor bottom-hole pressures below, in and above the pump by means of pressure transducers, and record casing- and tubing-head pressures continuously; (2) measure accurately the annulus gas, as well as measure the tubing gas and liquid production from the well; (3) take special PVT samples of the well fluid; (4) measure power consumption of the prime mover; and (5) measure the rod loads at the polished rod. A typical test installation is illustrated in Fig. 1. It was established from the pressure transducers that with viscous oils, there is considerable flow resistance across the pump and gas anchor assembly. Pressure surges were observed over each pump cycle,

Jan 1, 1970

By Howard R. Pratt, Jimmie L. Bratton

The Air Force Weapons Laboratory (AFWL) has been carrying out a series of experiments whose principal purpose is to measure the dynamic response of rock media to large pressure pulses. Coupled with the field experiments have been theoretical calculations simulating this response. These two approaches allow an appraisal of the current ability to measure in-situ rock response under extreme conditions and also give a fair estimate of the current state-of-the-art in the area of computer calculation of the response of "real" geologic media to a large load. The area chosen for the test series is composed of a sequence of sedimentary units (shale, sandstone, and limestone) located in the Estancia Valley 45 miles east of Albuquerque, N.M. (Fig. 1). The units, which dip gently off the uplifted Manzano Mountains to the west, are essentially horizontal at the test site. An extensive geologic and geophysical investigation of the area was carried out in the form of surface mapping and seismic exploration. Numerous holes were cored and material properties were determined from tests of the cores. In-situ geophysical measure¬ments were also carried out. The experiment consisted of loading a 60X40 ft test area with a 4000-psi transient exponentially decaying pressure pulse. The pulse was initiated at one end and traveled the 60-ft length of the test bed. The test area was instrumented with acceleration, velocity, and strain measuring devices placed in drill holes to depths of 30 ft. Theoretical computer calculations of the response of the layered geologic media have been carried out on the AFWL CDC 6600 using one and

Jan 1, 1972

By H. Kazemi, M. S. Seth

The effects of anisotropy and stratification on flow behavior and production performance of oil and gas wells have been studied by numerous authors.1-3 Lefkovits et al.l studied the performance of totally penetrated, stratified bounded reservoirs with no crossflow. Others have studied a similar problem, but with crossflow; Russell and Prats2 have summarized the findings of these papers. Muskat3 studied the steady-state behavior of liquid flow for a partially penetrating well in an anisotropic system and concluded that the productivity weakly depended on the directional permeability ratios (kz/kr>0.1). Nisle4 used the classical method of point source solution to the diffusivity equation to study the effect of partial penetration on pressure buildup of oil wells in an isotropic system. He found that the theoretical pressure buildup curves consisted of two straight lines, the one at early buildup times having a slope proportional to the flow capacity of the open interval (l-d)k, and the other having a slope proportional to the flow capacity of the entire formation hk,. Later Brons and Marting5 supplemented the findings of Nisle and concluded that partial penetration gave rise to a pseudo damage, which reflected itself as a skin factor in pressure buildup calculations. Using the pseudo skin, they calculated the impairment of productivity of the production wells, which agreed well with the results of Muskat.6 Pizzi et al.,? using an electrical analog of a stratified system, concluded that a high pseudo damage resulted if the reservoir was partially penetrated. Harriss studied the optimum spacing and arrangement of perforations in cased holes. Hantush9 derived an expression for pressure distribution in an unbounded reservoir with restricted flow entry. Seth10 extended Hantush's work to a bounded reservoir. Odehl1 has studied a similar problem for steady-state conditions. The purpose of this work was to investigate: (1) the combined effects of anisotropy, stratification with crossflow, and restricted flow entry on pressure transient analysis of flow and buildup tests, (2) the feasibility of calculating the horizontal permeabilities of intercommunicating stratified systems, and (3) the pressure interference tests in such systems. Theory The partial differential equation governing the isothermal flow of homogeneous fluids of constant compressibility is given by Eq. 1: The initial and the boundary conditions are: 1. The reservoir potential is initially constant, say 4v

Jan 1, 1970

By G. R. St. Pierre, A. J. Wilhelem

In connection with the reduction of hematite or magnetite to metallic iron, it appeared desirable to study the rate of reduction of each oxide to the next lower oxide under conditions which excluded all other condensed phases. For this purpose, pellets of Fe,O,, Fe,O,, and oFeOo were prepared. A gas train for the preparation of Ar-Hz-H20 mixtures was employed to establish a continuous flow of a controlled atmosphere over a pellet suspended on a balance. In this manner the following individual reduction steps could be studied: For example, pellets of hematite were reduced solely to magnetite by adjusting the gas atmosphere such that it was oxidizing to wustite. In other words, the reaction was complete when the hematite pellet had been totally converted to magnetite. The pellets were prepared from Baker Chemical ferric oxide. The ferric oxide powder was moistened and handrolled. Air sintering at 950°C produced Fe,0, pellets with a density of 3.65 g per cm3. The pellets ranged in size from 0.6 to 1.2 cm diam. The magnetite and

Jan 1, 1962

By C. C. Harris, A. Jowett, S. K. Ghosh

An equation derived from first-order kinetics and accounting for return from froth to pulp has correlated continuous flotation data. The concentration of floatable material in the pulp can be altered either by changing the feed concentration or the feed rate. The latter does not affect the flotation rate constant, the froth to pulp return constant, and the concentration of non-floatable material in both the pulp and concentrate. Both the return constant and the concentration of non-floatable material in the pulp are directly proportional to the feed concentration, while the concentration of non-floatable material in the concentrate is related to the feed concentration. The investigation of the froth flotation process by continuous test methods, previously used by Brown and smith,1 Jowett and Safvi2 and Jowett and West,3 is being continued. Recent tests, primarily concerned with flotation cell design, have yielded kinetic data suitable for testing an equation proposed by Arbiter and Harris4 which postulates that a flotation process is defined by two rate constants: 1) the rate constant for mass transfer from pulp to froth. Previous workers have regarded this as the flotation rate constant. 2) the rate constant for mass transfer from froth to pulp, which has previously been ignored. THEORY Under continuous flow conditions at the steady state in Fig. 1 the equation developed4 is Symbols are defined in Table I. The air-liquid ratio terms4 have been omitted, since they are substantially constant for a given set of conditions. Also, for a system operating at the steady state Vf and V, remain constant and Eq. 1 can be written: Cp/Cc=b'/a,+Qc/a' [2]

Jan 1, 1963

By Enrique Touceda

FOR a number of years prior to the world war, the firm of Geo. H. Thacher & Co., of Albany, N. Y., was engaged in the manufacture of marine and other gray-iron castings. At -the outbreak of the war the firm decided to specialize in the manufacture f propeller wheels. It attacked the problem, therefore, from a foundry point of view, seeking to produce a casting that would be so accurate that no subsequent machining would be required on the blades, also from the point of view of the ship builder. There were two general methods f manufacture, the shortcomings of which have been freely acknowledged. In the sweep method, the nowel, or bottom half-mold, for each blade is swept up by a spindle beam and pitch race, while the top half-mold for each blade is built up individually. In the pattern method one individual blade, with the hub or hub portion, is mounted on a spindle and the individual -blade mold formed, the pattern is then rotated on the spindle to the position- for the next blade, etc. In rare cases wheels were made from a solid pattern. Owing to the cost of the pattern, its failure in many instances to be correctly made, and (when made of wood) its early and sure distortion the disadvantage of this practice is obvious, while metal patterns in most instances were prohibitive in cost. In these methods both green-sand and loam molding was practiced. The casting produced by either method can be considered only as a blank from which the propeller must be machined. The back surface f each blade must be chipped too the templet and through this procedure chipped to such accuracy, as will be required for a static balance. Inasmuch as the' work done by the machine tool is confined to the driving face of the blades, not only is perfection most difficult, but corrosion will be greater because of the removal of the dense skin f the casting and the local strains set up by the pneumatic tool in chipping. To produce a finished 9-ft. propeller for a Navy destroyer required from 8 to 21 days f foundry work and about the same length of, time for the machining. Through the use f the Thacher process, only as many hours are required, besides it is possible to produce a finished casting in perfect conformity, with any particular propeller-wheel design,

Jan 4, 1921

By Hal T. Morris

The main Tintic mining district in central Utah has produced approximately 13,500,000 tons of ore, containing silver, lead, gold, copper, zinc, and other metals, valued at more than $315,000,000. More than 90 per cent of this ore has come from large, irregular ore bodies that have replaced folded and faulted limestone and dolomite strata. Of lesser importance are replacement veins that chiefly cut contact-pyrometasomatized carbonate rocks and fissure veins that cut altered intrμsive bodies and volcanic rocks. The district is in the west-central part of the East Tintic Mountains, a north-trending fault-block range near the eastern margin of the Great Basin. The consolidated sedimentary rocks exposed at the surface and in mine workings are miogeosynclinal deposits more than 10,000 feet thick that range in age from late Precambrian to Late Mississippian. They are folded and strongly faulted and are partly overlain by volcanic tuffs and agglomerates and by extensive flows of porphyritic and vitrophyric quartz latite, latite, and trachyandesite of Eocene age. All of these rocks are locally concealed beneath thick alluvial deposits of Pliocene and Quaternary age. The Eocene and older rocks are cut by dikes, sills, and small stocks of porphyritic quartz monzonite, monzonite, and latite, which are genetically related to the ore deposits. The district is inactive except for the production of halloysite clay and for minor leasing activity and exploration ventures. Several exploration targets remain untested.

Jan 1, 1968

By H. Conrad

The strain hardening associated with the creep of magnesium single crystals at room temperatu.Je was investigated by shear tests in which the direction of stressing was reversed a number of times after creep in a <100> direction. The strain hardening was strongly anisotropic; the largest amount occurring in the direction of flow and the least 180 deg to this. The time law for creep changed from a parabolic type to logarithmic for the first and subsequent reversals of stress. For a given stress the creep strain decreased significantly for the first and second reversals and then only slightly for subsequent reversals. The logarithmic creep constant a changed in a similar manner. A linear relationship was observed between the creep strain for a given reversal and the stress. The slope for the third reversal yielded a strain hardening coefficient 12 to 16 times greater than that observed for unidirectional flow. Al-though no recovery was observed upon resting at room temperature, the hardening resulting from stress reversals could be completely removed by heating to 450" C. PREVIOUS work1.&apos; indicated that the creep rate of magnesium single crystals tested in the temperature range of 78" to 364°K decreased with time. This was attributed to an increase in internal stress resulting from an accumulation of dislocations at internal obstacles. The object of the present investigation was to further evaluate the nature of this hardening by conducting tests in which the direction of stressing is changed after previous creep in shear in a given slip direction. Previous to 1950 three investigations indicated that a Bauschinger effect3 occurred for single crystals as well as polycrystals brass in tension compression,

Jan 1, 1960

By W. C. Maurer

A study of the mechanics of shear failure of rock under pressure has been made. The transition from brittle to ductile failure occurs when the friction along the fracture surfaces exceeds the shear strength of the rock. A machine has been developed for measuring both the shear strength of rock and the friction along rock fracture surfaces. In this shear machine, the fractures are forced along definite planes; as a result, the rock is stronger than in compression tests where the fractures choose the weakest paths through the specimens. Friction is composed of several forces: (1) the forces to slide irregulurities on surfaces over each other; (2) forces to shear some of these irregularities; (3) molecular attractions across the fractures; and (4) forces required to break bonds resulting from melting and welding at the tips of irregularities on the surfaces. Friction along rock fracture surfaces is not proportional to contact pressure as usually assumed; instead, it increases as the contact pressure raised to the 0.4 to 0.8 power. INTRODUCTION It is difficult to produce tensile stresses under the high compressive stresses present in the earth; therefore, in deep drilling and geological faulting, shear failure predominates. This shear failure mechanism is complicated because rock is a heterogeneous material containing pore spaces, microfractures, elastic discontinuities and other imperfections. A study of shear failure of rock under pressure has been made to obtain a better understanding of this complex mechanism. A machine has been developed and used to measure the shear strength of rock and friction along sheared surfaces. This machine has certain advantages over the compression test — shear properties can be measured under low normal stresses and shear stress and normal stress can be varied independently. The first part of this paper is a description of shear failure of rock under pressure. The role of shear strength and friction along fracture surfaces in the shear failure mechanism will be discussed. The second part consists of a description of the shear machine and a discussion of the shear strength and friction data obtained using this machine. It will be shown that shear strength depends upon the size of the stressed zone, and that friction does not increase linearly with contact pressure as usually assumed. Attempts are made to relate some of the new concepts to tectonic failure and to dril ling. SHEAR FAILURE IN ROCK TRIAXIAL TESTS The shear failure mechanism is illustrated by the triaxial test shown in Fig. 1. In this test, a cylindrical rock specimen is subjected to a confining pressure, PC, and an axial pressure, pa. These external pressures produce normal a and shear T stresses on inclined planes within the specimen equal to1 where 0 is the angle between the specimen axis and a normal to the inclined plane. Fig. 2 shows how triaxial specimens deform as the axial pressure is increased. The pressure is

Jan 1, 1966

By William Campbell

(Cleveland Meeting, October, 1912.) [SECRETARY&apos;S NOTE.-To avoid repetitions of foot-notes, references to authorities are made in the paper by means of figures, referring to a numbered list in the appendix.-J. S.] I. INTRODUCTION. IN the olden days the making of alloys was au art, and the secrets of the craft were jealously guarded. To-day it has become a science, though the old ideas in regard to the secrets and formula are dying hard. Modern progress may be attributed to scientific research and testing of materials, and the substitution of chemical analytical control for " cook-book " methods. We know to-day a great deal about the constitution of alloys, the reasons of the change in structure and physical properties by heat and mechanical treatment; and this new knowledge is due for the most part to the physical chemist and metallographist, who have shown us that alloys are simply solutions, and as such obey definite laws. The application of the theories of solutions and of the phase rule tells us what ought to happen when our alloys are in a state of equilibrium. The working-out of the temperature-composition diagram (thermal diagram) for numerous alloys has thrown a light on the structure and constitution which has dispelled most of the darkness in which we labored before the advent of metallography. The work began with the determination of the freezing-point curves, and here the research of Le Chatelier,1 Gautier,2 Roberts-Austen,3 and the other pioneers broke the ground. Next the physical chemists, Tammann,4 Rooseboom,5 Bancroft,6 and their colleagues, showed us the complete thermal diagram and its meaning. Then the researches of Heycock and Neville 7 on the Cu-Sn series and of Shepherd 8 on the * Associate Professor of Metallurgy, Columbia University in the City of New York.

Dec 1, 1912

Organization Place Date 1918 American Society of Mechanical Engineers...:.. Worcester, Mass. June 4-7 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Berlin, N. H. June 19-22 American Concrete Institute Atlantic City, N. J. June 24-26 American Society for Testing Materials Atlantic City, N. J. June 25 28 American Institute of Electrical Engineers Atlantic City, N. J. June 26-28 New York Electrical Society, Annual Meeting... New York, N. Y. June American Institute of Mining Engineers Colorado Sept. 2-7 National Association of Stationary Engineers.... Cincinnati, 0. Sept. 9-13 British Iron and Steel Institute, Autumn Meeting London, Eng. Sept. 12-13 National Exposition of Chemical Industries New York, N. Y. Sept. 23-28 American Chemical Society Cleveland, 0. Sept. National Petroleum Association.: Atlantic City, N. J. Sept.

Jan 6, 1918

By J. A. Berger, R. J. Towner

The pjPocesses of polygonization and subgrain growth were followed in slightly stretched 99.99 pct A1 single crystals heated for cumulative times at 400°, 500°, and 600°C. Changes in sub-grain size and boundary angle were determined from measurements on X-ray micrographs. CAHN1, 2 studied polygonization in stretched and heated aluminum single crystals of 99.99 pct A1 using various techniques, including etch pits, Laue patterns, and a slight restretching of heated specimens to reveal small changes in lattice orientation by the direction of new slip lines. He found that kink bands, which had well-defined boundaries lying in a plane perpendicular to the slip direction (at least in the early stages of deformation), formed during stretching. Also, he noted that bending occurred about the <211> axis lying in the (111) slip plane perpendicular to the <110> slip direction. His studies of polygonization were largely confined to the kink bands rather than to the weakly bent matrix regions between bands. The minimum temperature required to bring about polygonization was established at about 450 "C. Guinier and Tenevin used a focusing Laue X-ray diffraction technique to study polygonization in aluminum single-crystal specimens of 99.99 pct purity. Stretching the crystals 5 pct in tension caused a widening of the focused Laue spots. After heating for 4 hr at 450°C, their method revealed no change in the specimen. Above 450°C polygonization was detected and further annealing near 600°C led to subgrain growth. They concluded that the orientation of the crystal relative to the axis of deformation had no marked effect on polygonization. Gay and Honey-combe4 using an X-ray microbeam technique found that polygonization did not occur in a stretched aluminum crystal heated at 250oC, although some decrease in the yield strength occurred. When the temperature was raised to 475oC, the asterism became broken up as a result of polygonization. Honeycombe5 noted that reflections on X-ray mi-

Jan 1, 1961

By N. A. D. Parlee, M. M. A. El-Naggar, G. 8. Horsley

The apparatus was of a modified Sieverts type1&apos;2 with a reaction tube designed to function also as the cell component of an oxygen pressure gage. The reaction tube assembly is shown in Fig. 1 and described in Table I. The main body is a 1-in.-OD 15 mol pct calcia-stabilized zirconia tube. The ground-glass joint, g, the male part of which carried a prism for optical pyrometer use, was connected to the remainder of the Sieverts apparatus. The calibration of the cell (at its 1000°K operating temperature) for internal oxygen pressures (PO2in) in the range 0.2 to 10 9 atm was made against internal air pressures measured by mercury manometer and McLeod gage. At very low po2in values down to l<Tn atm the performance was checked by comparing pQ calculated from electromotive force measurement when the apparatus was filled with a) pure CO gas and b) a CO-CO2 mixture of the ratio CO-CO2 = 1:0.398, with Po, values calculated from the equilibrium constants of the following reactions at 1000°K:

Jan 1, 1968

By E. H. T. Whitten

Fundamental principles of trend surface analysis are briefly reviewed. Recent analyses of several granite masses illustrate the method of estimating the quantitative regional composition and also variation trends. Mineralogi-cal, bulk chemical, and other quantitative variates can be employed. Such results should improve gravimetric surveys (etc.) relying on correction terms based upon estimated rock composition. For the first time realistic estimates of the mean composition of rock bodies can be made with the aid of trend components. Deviation maps hold promise for delimitation of disseminated mineralized areas. Deviations comprise residual "anomalies" after removal of trend components. In petrogenetic work such deviations have been shown to reflect local influences (e.g., contamination of magma by assimilation of xenoliths or country rocks of the envelope). Similarly, mineralization should be reflected as deviations standing out from background trends. Actual examples are given. Present results largely involved projection of data onto a horizontal plane, but if sufficient data are available use of three spatial coordinates increases accuracy for prediction in "unexposed" areas. Regression analysis shows that statistical correlations between variates for regionally distributed specimens are often strong (particularly with percentage data). Hence, in preliminary surveys more easily determined variates may sometimes be employed to gain first estimates of the distribution of components more economically significant. The sampling plan is of paramount importance. Unless a suitable sampling plan is devised and adhered to rigorously during collection of the samples, all subsequent analysis is liable to strong bias and to yield spurious estimates of the truth. For a wide variety of purposes it is becoming necessary to assess the quantitative composition and variability of rock masses and mineralized zones of various types. In petrology and petrography this is something of a break with tradition, because virtually all descriptions heretofore have been qualitative. Although vast amounts of qualitative data have been compiled, little is known about the quantitative behavior of rock components. However, if variability of rocks could be understood and expressed with sufficient accuracy, there would be considerable advantage to both economic and petrogenetic problems. For example, if, on the basis of a limited series of observations, the three-dimensional geometry of a disseminated orebody (or ore-bearing formation) could be predicted accurately, it would be possible to extrapolate with confidence the structure into unexposed areas. The following example based upon the geometry of an igneous cone sheet illustrates the point. The significant rock-unit gives outcrops at a number of points on the exposed surface ABCD (Fig. 1A). Study of n exposures may enable a geologist to predict that the rock-unit is circular in form and thus indicate where the unit can be expected in unexposed terrain. Such observations are made at sites with u, v coordinates, but, if subsurface information is available at sites with uvw coordinates, it will eventually become possible to predict accurately the three-dimensional form of the rock mass. Geologic rock masses or mineral deposits are not generally as regular and symmetrical in geometric form as the body illustrated in Fig. 1A. However, even where the broad limits of a major rock mass are known, a more acute problem arises in attempting to obtain detailed quantitative estimates of its internal variability; it is difficult to predict the variability of a mass from a limited number of observa-

Jan 1, 1961

By Sherwin F. Kelly

One of the most succinct and illuminating perspectives of the field of geophysical exploration to appear in recent years is an article by E. A. Eckhardt, in the magazine Geophysics for October 1949. Although his review covers the year 1948, many of the data presented are apropos to a review of 1949, and form a pertinent background for a consideration of current progress. He presents charts of the world-wide distribution of gravimeter and seismograph activity in oil exploration, which show that surveys in the United States accounted for practically 68%; of all gravity work and 80%; of all seismic activity. Canada ranked second, with a proportion of roughly 6%, in each case; South America accounted for about the same percentage of seismic work, and double that amount for gravity surveys. Within the United States, Texas and Louisiana were the scenes of the greatest activity, both claiming about 60% of all surveys by each method.

Jan 1, 1950

COUNCIL OF ECONOMICS OF AIME Formerly Mineral Economics Division Established as a Division December 15, 1948 Established as a Council February 26, 1957 Franz R Dykstra, Chairman Paul Schultz, Vice-Chairman A J Phillips, Vice-Chairman Douglas Donald, Vice-Chairman J S Vanick, Contact AIME Director A H Lindley, Jr, Secretary-Treasurer Lehman Brothers 1 William Street New York 4, N Y COUNCIL OF EDUCATION OF AIME Formerly Mineral Industry Education Division Established as a Division January 15, 1932 Established as a Council February 26, 1957 0 Cutler Shepard,Chairman Lysle E Shaffer, Vice-Chairman John C Calhoun, Jr, Past Chairman J C Kinnear, Jr, Contact AIME Director J D Forrester, Secretary-Treasurer College of Mines Univ of Arizona Tucson, Arizona

Jan 1, 1958

The income of the Institute is derived mainly from dues, advertising in MINING AND METALLURGY and sale of publications. These sources are fortunately supplemented by the interest from invested funds now amounting to over $500,000, a considerable portion constituting endowments for especial purposes. Aside from the medal funds the principal endowments are the James Douglas Fund for support of the Library, the Rocky Mountain Fund and the Seeley W. Mudd Memorial Fund. The income from the two last named is available for the support of research and a variety of other purposes. It is allocated by the Board of Directors upon recommendation of standing committees in each case. An active effort is being made to increase the endowments of the Institute, it being felt that unusual opportunities exist for research and public and professional service through the organization.

Jan 1, 1939

By R. B. Booth, W. F. Linke

The continuous interest of the American Cyanamid Company in producing superior polymeric flocculants and dispersants for the mining industry has resulted in a broad, general study of the physical chemistry of mineral-polymer systems. The aim of this program has been to establish a sound theoretical basis on which practical problems could be analyzed, and which would lead to the development of new and improved flocculating and dispersing agents. This study has required the cooperative effort of physical, analytical, and polymer chemists, as well as engineers familiar with mining problems. This report summarizes the results of some of our investigations over the past two years. Further studies along these and other lines are in progress and will be reported in the near future. MEASURING FLOCCULATION IN THE LABORATORY The foremost problem in studying flocculation in the laboratory has been to establish reproducible methods of comparing and evaluating the effectiveness of various reagents. Previous workers have measured settling -rates 1,8 filtration rates2 , and sediment volumes3 . Direct observations of the floc size, or the clarity of the supernatant liquid, can also be used. AIthough these parameters are all interrelated, they do not always measure the same physical properties of the suspensions, and hence are not equally useful or reliable. Whatever the method of comparison selected. the testing procedure must be carefully defined and standardized. The results must be satisfactorily reproducible, and for practical purposes must accurately reflect the results obtained in mill use. In order to compare the data obtained in these various types of test, the physical nature of the flocculated system must be examined in some detail. In an unflocculated system, only the larger or denser particles (the "sands") settle at a useful rate. The sediment can be observed to build up from the bottom of the cylinder, while the fines remain in suspension for a long period of time. If the system is not disturbed, even the microscopic fines can be seen to classify themselves as they fall over a period of days. When a high molecular weight polymer is added to the system, the colloidal particles are tied together randomly in flocs, and the sands and fines settle together. The line of demarkation between solid and liquid phases moves downward from the top of the cylinder. The settling rate of the flocs depends on their size and on their effective density. For a given mineral sample, the larger the flocs, the faster the settling. Since the large flocs cannot pack as closely as small ones, they produce a sediment with more pore spaces, and hence of larger volume, which is easier to pump and to agitate. Although it is nearly impossible to measure individual floc sizes, it is relatively easy to determine settling rates and sediment volumes. Of these two, the settling rate is simpIer to measure, and hence generally more practical. Reproducible sediment volumes can only be obtained by allowing the solids to pack for a rather long period of time (e.g., hours to days), and although the volumes thus observed are directly related to the degree of flocculation (average floc size), it is often impractical to wait so long for the results.

Jan 1, 1961

By E. N. Harshman

Uranium mining and milling are rather new industries in Wyoming and South Dakota, but, in the past 15 years, ore valued at more than $400,000,000 has been mined and milled in the region. The major uranium deposits are in structural and/ or erosional basins or on the flanks of uplifts. The principal host rocks are medium- to coarse-grained sandstones that were deposited in continental or brackish-water environments and were derived in large part from the granitic cores of the uplifts and the sedimentary rocks that flank the cores. The ages of the host rocks range from Cretaceous to Miocene, but more than 95 per cent of the known reserves in the region are in rocks of early Eocene age. The bulk of the ore in the region is unoxidized and lies below the water table; some oxidized ore has been mined in the Powder River Basin and Black Hills districts. The unoxidized ore comprises pyrite, uraninite and/ or coffinite, marcasite, hematite, jordisite(?), and selenium. Minerals in the oxidized ore include hydrous uranium carbonates, phosphates, and sulfates and hydrous uranium and/ or vanadium silicates. The deposits are in the form of ore rolls that contain from a few hundred to a few hundred thousand tons of ore, ranging in grade from 0.1 per cent to 1.0 per cent U3O8. The rolls are at the margins of large tabular bodies of sandstone that has been altered by the orebearing solutions. The deposits are believed to have resulted from the interaction of an alkaline; oxidizing, ore-bearing ground water and a reducing environment. Exploration guides include the spatial relations of ore to altered sandstone, favorable lithology in the host rock, the content of certain elements and/ or compounds in ground water, and the relation of deposits to major paleodrainages.

Jan 1, 1968

By A. M. Khan, I. Fatt

A new type of steady-state thermal conductivity apparatus is presented and described. Results of measurements on Berea sandstone, Solehofen limestone, Bandera sandstone and Bakelite are presented. The measurements were made in a two-hour period at temperatures up to 80C and axial stress to 125 bars. Results show that the thermoelectric heat pump and tbermistor-controlled electric heater can be used in a steady-state apparatus for measuring thermal conductivity of mck. Steady-state is reached within two hours. With Urethane foam insulation, not more than 3 per cent of heat is lost by radial flaw. The apparatus can be used as a comparator or for absolute thermal conductivity determinations. INTRODUCTION Calculations of heat flow through the earth, both for scientific purposes and engineering design, require thermal-conductivity data on rock. However, the high variability of rock often makes handbook thermal-conductivity data of little value. For engineering purposes in particular, it is desirable to have measured data on samples of the rock mass under study. Laboratory methods for measuring thermal conductivity of rock use either time-dependent1-3 or steady - state temperatures .4,5 The time -dependent (transient) techniques give thermal diffusivity from which thermal conductivity can be calculated if the specific heat and density of the sample is known. Most transient techniques require lengthy and involved sample preparation. Also, the accuracy tends to be low. Steady-state techniques are more exact and are the most commonly used. The steady-state methods, however, also have their difficulties. A long time is often required to reach steady state, troubles have been encountered in establishing good thermal contact between the heating and cooling elements and the rock sample, and unaccounted-for heat losses are difficult to prevent. In this paper we present a description of a new type of steady-state thermal conductivity apparatus. With it, measurements have been made in two hours at temperatures up to 80C and axial stress to 125 bars. Sample preparation is simple and no thermal conductivity standard is needed.6 APPARATUS Our steady-state apparatus is an improvement . over the conduction pile used by Zierfuss and van der vliet4 and Somerton.5 A linear heat flux is established through a conduction pile consisting of the rock sample and a standard material of known thermal conductivity in series. The thermal conductivity of the sample is calculated from the ratio of the temperature drop across the sample

Jan 1, 1966